OTTAWA - A new study says the rate of violent incidents reported by aboriginal women was triple that of non-aboriginal women in 2009.

Statistics Canada says nearly 67,000, or 13 per cent of aboriginal women aged 15 or older, reported they had been the victim of one or more violent crimes in the 12 months prior to the survey.

Violent crimes as defined by the agency include sexual assault, robbery and physical assault.

The agency says 223 of every 1,000 aboriginal women reported incidents of violence, while the rate among non-aboriginal women was 84 in 1,000.

Most violent incidents reported by aboriginal women were committed by males acting alone.

Nearly two-thirds (63 per cent) of aboriginal victims were between 15 and 34 years old, yet this group accounted for less than half (47 per cent) the female aboriginal population (aged 15 or older) living in the 10 provinces.

The proportion of native women who reported violence by a current or former spouse was about two-and-a-half times higher than the proportion of non-aboriginal women.